Students will create paintings of a flower in the style of artist Geoff Slater, using a single line that never touches or crosses itself.
By Andrea Mulder-Slater
Artist Bio:
Geoff Slater is a watercolour and acrylic artist who paints images of the land and sea that surround his home in New Brunswick, Canada. His specialty is “Line Painting”: images, which are painted using one continuous line. His work is collected around the world.
Objectives:
- To become familiar with the works of Geoff Slater.
- To create watercolor paintings using one single line.
Vocabulary:
line, direction, color, shape
What You Need:
- Paper (watercolor paper is best but any heavy-weight paper will do)
- Watercolor paints (you could use tempera instead)
- Colors: red, blue, yellow (from there you can mix orange and green)
- Small paintbrushes
- Pencils
What You Do:
Show examples of the work of Geoff Slater. Focus on his single line paintings (visit here for details and examples: http://www.geoffslater.com/linepainting.shtml)
Talk about how Mr. Slater creates his images using one single line.
Have students draw a simple flower shape on their paper such as the one below (you can get more complicated later on but to start with, begin with a simple image.) If you need it, a template can be downloaded here.
Prepare your paints. For this lesson, students will need orange (mix red & yellow), green (mix yellow and blue) and yellow.
Begin at the bottom of the flower, using the green paint.
Continue with the green until you reach the petal area, at which time you switch to the orange paint. Blend the green and orange together on the page so there is a nice transition between the two colors.
Paint the petals of the flowers, taking care to move your paintbrush around the areas in a back and forth motion.
When you reach the center of the flower, transition from orange to yellow paint.
Continue to work with yellow until the centre of the flower has been painted. Then, blend your yellow paint with green as you transition back to the stem of the flower.
Paint the stem and the leaf with the green paint, until the picture is complete.
Geoff Slater – Line Paintings
http://www.geoffslater.com/linepainting.shtml
Note: If you would like to have a “virtual visit” from the artist, contact Geoff to set up a Skype appointment. http://www.geoffslater.com
Below are links to sites where you can see examples of kids painting like Geoff Slater.
Renée Collins, art educator
Grade 4 students in Washington State
Grade 2 students in Christiansburg, Virginia
Grade 4 students in Vernon Hills, Illinois
